The Highest Bounty

"I"ve just intercepted a message from the prison. That guy called Pearson says that he has definite proof of you aiding the escape of the s.p.a.ce Pirate Cain from the Cerulean Prison. He has obtained a warrant of arrest from the Federal Court, and the police are already on their way here."

"Are you sure you"ve destroyed all the evidence?" Gu Ding raised an eyebrow, though he did not look fl.u.s.tered at all. He shoved the other half of the fried bun into his mouth.

"Not a trace. You can be sure of that," Neptune replied confidently, "I"m guessing that the evidence they mentioned is from the two escapees that saw you at the entrance when Cain escaped on the s.h.i.+p. According to official information from the prison, there are three more escapees still at large. Those two weren"t among the three, so they should be recaptured. You can consider them to be witnesses, though under Federal law only witnesses are not enough. There is a 93% chance that the guy is trying to frame you and get you to admit guilt. If you were a normal civilian, you"d be panicking when you"re brought directly to the Federal Court with the prosecutors claiming that they have concrete evidence. You"ll be asking for a plea deal to reduce your sentence. That"s a common tactic by prosecutors."

"I know." Gu Ding casually picked up his second fried bun.

He shoved the remaining fried buns on his plate into his mouth in the next few minutes. He paid the bill at the front counter, and as he exited the shop he grumbled that the fried buns today were fried a little longer than usual. They were harder to chew.

Gu Ding"s adoptive Dad had left him with this apartment. It was across the street from the breakfast shop. There was nothing special about this house, and it looked no different from the house of any other normal civilian. He entered the house and turned on the television. A while later, he could hear police sirens approaching.

Several police cars entered the crowded area and stopped in front of Gu Ding"s apartment. A squad of well-trained police officers dressed in full riot gear exited the vehicles and walked toward Gu Ding"s house.

"They"re here," Neptune reminded him.

"I know." Gu Ding heard someone knocking on his front door. He opened the front door and looked at the police officer. "Looking for someone?"

"Are you Gu Ding?" The squad leader of the police officers was not expecting that Gu Ding was so young. He had seen his fair share of juvenile criminals and soon cleared his doubts.

"That"s right, I am Gu Ding." Gu Ding already knew what these police officers were here for.

"Follow us for a trip!" The squad leader waved his hand and the other police officers standing behind him crowded around, pointing their guns at Gu Ding in case he tried to pull off something funny.

Gu Ding raised both his arms to show that he was not a threat. "I would like to see the arrest warrant."

The squad leader frowned. He did not expect Gu Ding to ask for the arrest warrant. He tapped on his intelligent wrist.w.a.tch and delivered the arrest warrant to Gu Ding"s public mailbox.

The arrest warrant was an electronic doc.u.ment bearing the seal of the Federal Court. In it was written the subject of the arrest, the reasons for arrest and any related pieces of evidence.

Gu Ding wanted to look at this so that he knew what types of evidence the Federal Court had on him. He glanced across the doc.u.ment and noticed that under the Evidence column, it was written "Unsubmitted". In the "Warrant Applicant" field was a familiar name: Pearson.

"So this guy is on Cerule." Gu Ding furrowed his brows. He stretched out his arms in front of him. "Alright, I"ll come along with you."

Under standard operating procedures, the suspect would be restrained with a pair of electromagnetic handcuffs to prevent them from escaping. The policemen were surprised when they saw Gu Ding volunteer to be cuffed.

The leader of the police officers did not give Gu Ding too much trouble. In usual cases, they would handcuff the hands of the suspect behind their back to further restrict their movement. In Gu Ding"s case, they left his hands in front of him, probably because they thought he was still young and would not pose too much of a threat, and also because he had been cooperative.

They held down Gu Ding"s head as they shoved him into the car of the squad leader.

A light fragrance of wood permeated the police car. Gu Ding did not know what brand of perfume this was, but he knew that it should not be cheap. The interior of the car was very clean, and even the windows were polished stainless. It was obvious that the owner of the car enjoyed the little pleasures in life. The only decoration in the car was a three-dimensional photo frame. In the frame was a man holding the hand of a little girl.

Gu Ding raised an eyebrow when he saw the photo. He tried to guess about the squad leader"s private life. "Divorced? Widowed? Or an adopted child?"

Gu Ding was influenced by Reid"s detective practices after being best friends for such a long time. His attention to detail was better than normal people and he could form deductions of his own.

About twenty minutes later, the car carrying Gu Ding had arrived at the Federal Court.

Gu Ding was escorted into the court by a squad of police officers in full riot gear, as though he was a dangerous criminal.

Not many people attended the hearing. Even the jury that consisted of eight people looked like they were still half-asleep. They were there just to make up numbers.

The prosecution attorney was a serious-faced middle-aged man. He wore a black business suit and a blue tie. He raised his head slightly as he saw Gu Ding step into the court, then lowered his head to continue looking at the doc.u.ments in his hand. His expression was not relaxed at all.

Pearson, on the other hand, had not arrived yet. Gu Ding guessed that he must be putting on airs and arriving last.

Gu Ding noticed that, as the defendant, he did not have a defense attorney appointed to him. He immediately asked, "Your Honor, may I appoint a defense attorney for myself?"

The prosecution attorney immediately replied. "We are about to start the hearing soon. If your attorney can arrive before the case concludes, we do not object."

The presiding judge looked at the prosecution attorney with some dissatisfaction, then slowly explained, "You may. You should be getting a public defense attorney, but we have asked more than ten of them and all of them were occupied with other cases."

"I"ve just checked. Twenty minutes ago, Pearson had sent a threatening letter to the presiding judge. He said that if he got you a defense attorney, he would add twenty years to the sentence of his son who is in prison." Neptune said.

"Don"t worry. I know an attorney. We can start the hearing on schedule. I"ll ask him to come here as soon as he can." Gu Ding nodded to the judge.

"You may call him then. The hearing has not started anyway." The judge could only accept his suggestion.

Gu Ding found Reid"s name on his communicator and dialed the number.

"Hey, what"s the matter so early in the morning?" Reid sounded like he had been woken by the call. His voice sounded lethargic. "Don"t tell me you"re standing in front of my door now with a box of fried buns in your hand…"

"I remember that you"ve taken the attorney certification several times. Are you certified?" The judge was shocked when he heard Gu Ding say this, and Pearson"s lawyer looked at him disdainfully.

"What do you mean by "several times"? Don"t you know how many levels of certification there are?" Reid retorted when he deduced that Gu Ding must have thought he failed in those attempts. His gift of gab was in full force when he explained. "The different levels of certification, from low to high, are Apprentice Lawyer, Novice Lawyer, Experienced Lawyer, Elite Lawyer…"

"Hey, I"m just asking if you"re certified. Don"t bother with the other nonsense." Gu Ding interrupted Reid. If he did not do so, his friend would not finish talking even when the hearing started.

"Why are you asking me this?" Reid asked.

"I"m at the Federal Court now. They"re accusing me of aiding in the escape of a wanted criminal."

"It"s not April Fools Day today, right?" Reid turned to look at the calendar on his wall.

"Come here quickly if you"re certified. If not, find someone you know who"s certified. The hearing starts at 9 o"clock sharp." Gu Ding guessed that he must be certified.

"Alright, I"ll be there right away. After breakfast, that is. Don"t worry, I"m the only certified Elite lawyer on Cerule. You"ll be fine." Reid hung up after speaking.